Core Component 5.B

Main Content

DRAFT

5.B The institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission.

  1. The governing board is knowledgeable about the institution; it provides oversight of the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices and meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
  2. The institution has and employs policies and procedures to engage its internal constituencies—including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students—in the institution’s governance.
  3. Administration, faculty, staff, and students are involved in setting academic requirements, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

Argument

5.B.1. The Southern Illinois University's Board of Trustees (BOT) was created by the Illinois General Assembly for the purpose of operating, managing, controlling, and maintaining SIU. It consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate and includes student members selected by the student bodies of SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville. The role of the BOT is detailed in assurance argument 2.C. It oversees the Institution’s financial policies and practices as evidenced by the BOT legislation statutes, its policy on financial and administrative affairs, and by the requirement of fiscal year reports per Board charter. The BOT oversees the Institution’s academic policies and practices as described in assurance argument 2.C.4. The BOT also oversees the Institution’s legal and fiduciary responsibilities; it is involved in position and appointment approvals and in the ratification of bargaining agreements. The BOT is also involved in ensuring that the Institution meets its fiduciary responsibilities as evidenced by annually published audit reports.

5.B.2. The Institution’s policies reflect the engagement by the BOT and the University’s administrative leadership of the different constituencies on campus (faculty, staff, and students). Representative constituency bodies include the Administrative and Professional Staff Council, the Civil Service Council, the Faculty Senate, the Graduate Council, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, and the Undergraduate Student Government. Representatives of the administrative leadership are often present at the meetings of these constituency bodies, and minutes of the meetings are shared by the different constituencies. In addition to these constituency bodies, a multitude of university-wide committees, both standing and ad-hoc, are active on campus to ensure the participation of faculty, staff, and students in campus governance. These committees include: Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, Honorary Degrees and Distinguished Service Committee, Search Committees (e.g., President, Chancellor, Dean Searches), and the University Joint Benefits Committee.

5.B.3. As stated in assurance argument 5.B.2., structures are in place to ensure the participation of constituency groups in setting academic requirements, policy and processes. The input from the different constituencies is ensured through stipulations in the operating papers of the departments, schools, and colleges. This involvement is also protected through the contractually required processes cited in collective bargaining agreements such as the agreement between the BOT and the SIUC Faculty Association. College and departmental operating papers ensure faculty participation in shared governance, outline roles and responsibilities of administrators, describe promotion and tenure processes, and describe merit evaluation processes. Furthermore, the operating papers of the different representative constituency bodies listed in assurance argument 5.B.2. govern the involvement of these bodies in setting academic requirements and policies. The Faculty Senate has standing committees on Faculty Status and Welfare, Budget, Undergraduate Educational Policy, and Governance. As such, it makes recommendations to the administration on personnel, governance, and academic issues. Similarly, the Graduate Council, with its standing committees, acts on behalf of graduate faculty and students to formulate policy pertaining to graduate programs and research. It should be noted that the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) students have voting representatives on the Graduate Council (in contrast to most peer universities) and on some of the standing and ad-hoc committees of the Faculty Senate. The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) as a representative of the undergraduate students, makes recommendations to the university administration in matters that affect undergraduate students including issues related to academic policies. In fact, the USG is recognized by the BOT as the representative of the students in matters affecting student welfare, student activities, and student participation in university affairs; the Graduate and Professional Student Council represents graduate students from academic units. It is involved in matters of concern to its members at the local, state, and national levels; the Administrative and Professional Staff Council and the Civil Service Council also provide recommendation to the university administration on policy and governance matters affecting their constituencies.

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